19 August 2007

It seems as time goes on I collect fewer and fewer cookbooks. Sometimes I come across the must haves, which simply means that if there is more than 3 recipes I would enjoy the cookbook ends up on my shelves. More and more I am turning to the Internet to find new recipes, which of course would include all the fantastic blogs out there!! I entered an event in the blogging world not long ago, so, went in search of recipes using chipotle chilies. Chipotle are smoked chilies that lend a delicate heat to your dishes. When I first went to buy the chilies everywhere I looked seemed to be chipotle free!!! Once I knew where to look now I see them everywhere!! Isn't that always the way????

I came across a Chipotle pesto from Olivieri the other day which I added to the sauce in this dish instead of using jalapenos peppers and cilantro. It makes a very flavourful dip for the chicken and takes away some of the heat from the peppers in the chicken rouladen. I found this recipe on the Internet of course. It was the Grand Prize winning recipe in a "Pilgrim's Pride" chicken contest. For the coating it utilizes crushed tortilla chips which adhered to the chicken rouladen very well when dipped in the buttermilk. The flavours just explode in your mouth!!! But watch the HEAT!!!!!!!! I hope that next time poblano chilies will be available because they are not as hot for those of us who are a little more timid. It is great no matter what though!!!I served it with Mexican Rice , a simple tossed salad and a Mexican flatbread from the bakery.

**Tortilla Crusted Chicken Rellenos with Cilantro Sauce**

2/3 cup dairy sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

4 scallions (green onions) chopped finely, green tops included

1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced (I used Olivieri Chipotle Pesto)

3 tablespoons cilantro or parsley, finely chopped

4 small poblano peppers ( I used jalapenos because it was what I could find: maybe a little too hot for me!!!!)

6 oz Pepper Jack cheese, cut into 4 strips (1-1/2 oz) each

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup finely crushed tortilla chips

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 tablespoon canola oil or vegetable oil

To make Cilantro Sauce, place sour cream in medium bowl. Add mayonnaise, scallions, jalapeno and cilantro. Stir to blend well, cover and refrigerate until serving.

Roast whole poblano peppers over hot grill, under broiler or over gas flame of stove. Turn frequently to ensure even roasting and cook until skin is charred and blistering. Place roasted peppers in plastic bag to steam. When cool enough to handle, cut vertical slit in peppers and remove seeds and stem ends. Remove skins by gently scraping with knife. Rinse, pat dry with paper towels, and stuff each pepper with 1-1/2 stick of cheese. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375F. Place chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap and flatten with meat mallet to 1/4-inch thickness. Place cheese filled pepper in centre of each breast. Fold sides over and roll up, enclosing pepper completely. Secure with wooden toothpicks. Place buttermilk in a shallow bowl. Place crushed tortillas in separate dish and add seasonings, stirring to blend. One by one, dip stuffed chicken in buttermilk and roll in tortilla mixture, pressing lightly to coat all sides. Set aside.

Place oil in a large non-stick skillet and heat on medium high. Place chicken in hot skillet and carefully saute about 3 - 5 minutes per side until lightly browned. Remove chicken to baking sheet coated with baking spray. Bake in preheated oven 20 - 25 minutes until chicken is done and temperature on meat thermometer is 160F.

To serve, remove toothpicks, place on serving plate and serve with Cilantro Sauce.

Valli, your rellenos look delicious! I've never tried crusting chicken with tortilla chips, that's such a great idea. I like some "heat" in my food and I have run out of new ideas for chicken, so this will be a good recipe to try. Thank you!

hivallii discovered your blog today and its such a great blog with lovely pictures i have read only a page looking forward to reading the whole blog soon...Its such a good idea to attend cooking classes in places where you visit , but how do you know about their existence and which is a good one , pls tell me how you do it so that i too can try doing the same.byewrite to memahek

Thank you fro visiting my blog ladies. I am so glad you are enjoying the photos and my blogging journey.

Mahek...The Internet is a valuable tool when searching for interesting things to do on vacation. I have been interested in cooking schools for years!!! I was going on a trip to Greece for 5 weeks: I booked all my hotels, tours and cooking classes on line. I try and choose trips that sound interesting and just take my chances. I look for the way they advertise the classes and if it sounds fun!!!!! Everything always turns out in the end!!! As it turns out the Greek cooking school on Kea was named as one of the "Top 100 Things" in "Food & Wine" magazine. When it comes to booking hotels I look for comkments on other travel sites to see if there are any negative comments about the hotel and then I just take my chances. A vacation is what you make it and if you are out to have fun then it will be no matter what you choose!!!!!

Srivalli....I wish I could say that my parents named me after a heroin in a book or something interesting like that. The name Valli is not my real name, but a name I use when I am on the net. A nick name. It comes from my original hotmail account when I called myself valligirl because I live in the Okanagan Valley ( a spin off of the California Valley Girl in the movies in the 80's)A friend of mine is named Lillian and we call her "Lilly of the Valley" after a flower (Lily of the Valley) but a take on the fact that we live in a valley. My name is Val...just simply Val.

Mahek...when looking for cooking schools on the GOOGLE bar of my computer I plug in something like culinary vacations+greece or cooking vacations+greece. There are cooking vacations in India as well!!!!!PLus Italy, France, Mexico, Jordan, Croatia, Turkey...the list would go on forever!!!!!!

This looks great, Valli! I love spicy food, although like you, perhaps the poblanos rather than the jalapenos would be more my speed! Goodness, with all of those heavnely spices, and then of course the melting cheese, and your lovely photos...who could resist?! :-)

Your zucchini sticks remind of my summer afternoons at Sunnyside Resort in Lake Tahoe, California in the late 80's. I made those the night before we had the chicken. Thanks for bringing back a wonderful memory!

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My blog More Than Burnt Toast has been my passion for almost 9 years and has evolved with me over time as I have gained confidence in the kitchen. Follow my travels through Italy and Greece one recipe at a time, upcoming cooking classes at local Okanagan wineries and restaurants, as well as daily experimentation in my own kitchen. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market. I look forward to getting to know you.